Chapter 10, and things now start to get serious. This chapter takes place during the events of episode 7 of the anime, and sees the introduction of the white Kampfers. However, as you'll see, they're the last thing Tara's worried about at the moment…

The first scene is probably the raunchiest I've ever written in my life! As for the last scene, I actually welled up a little as I wrote it, so I hope it's effective. This has been my favourite chapter to date, I think. I'm quite proud with how it turned out.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, SST stands for Sega Sound Team. They made a lot of rock covers of classic Sega arcade game music, and they were very good. I listened to a radio show dedicated to their music, and listened to their version of After Burner, which I felt would make a great workout song. Hence, why Tara listens to it at the start of the chapter.

As ever, please read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kampfer.

Chapter ten- The White Kampfer

It was a pleasant afternoon in the park, and all was peaceful and calm. Except, that was, for the battle that was taking place between Megumi and myself. We'd spent much of the afternoon sparring, with the hope of improving our techniques, and maybe learn some new ones. While nothing really came of that, I still felt that we made some progress with our training. At this point, we were clashing swords with one another, since we decided that Megumi should try and work on her close range combat skills. I was listening to the SST Band version of After Burner (from the video game of the same name, of course!) on my MP3 player while we were training, as that always got me in the mood to kick some serious butt! Eventually, we stopped attacking each other for a moment and stood back.

"Your control over your weapon has gotten even better since you gained more confidence. I'm so proud of you!" said Megumi, who was panting pretty heavily.

"Thanks." I said, turning down the volume on my MP3 player so I could actually hear her.. "But I think there's still room for improvement. Wanna we go one more round?"

"You know I'm always good for it." said Megumi, clutching hard onto her icy sword.

We both charged towards each other and clashed again. We kept striking and guarding against each other until I finally found an opening in Megumi's defence. I ducked underneath her next blow, then struck at her sword, knocking it out of her hand and into the air. As it descended, I caught it by the handle, thus giving me another sword to use in this fight! Or so I thought.

"Ow! Damn, that's cold!" I yelled, dropping both swords. Of course, I'd forgotten that Megumi's sword was still made of ice. And ice is well known for being rather cold. Megumi couldn't help but chuckle at my misfortune.

"Ha-ha, I have to admit, that was a clever move. But you didn't think it fully through, did you? Oh well, never mind. Against anyone else, that would have been really smart. Want to call it a day?"

"I guess so, yeah."

I'd only just realised how hot I was after all that. Megumi reverted back to her normal state and walked towards the large tree that was close by. I turned off my MP3 player, then followed her and sat down beside her in the shade.

"Hmmm. You still haven't figured out how to transform back yet?" said Megumi, who noticed I was still in my Kampfer form.

"What? No, not yet. It's so annoying…"

"Hold on, let me do something about that."

Megumi touched her bracelet and closed her eyes. I then saw my bracelet glowing, followed by a quick flash. Looking at my hair, I realised that I was back in my normal form!

"Y-you changed me back? How?"

"That's one of the perks of being able to control your transformation. With enough practice, and if you really concentrate hard enough, you can force another Kampfer to transform as well. Pretty neat, huh?"

"Wow, that's awesome. Wonder if I'll be able to do that someday?"

"Well, you should just concentrate on being able to transform by yourself first. Don't worry about the fancy stuff right now, OK?"

"Yeah, okay. It'd still be cool to do stuff like that though."

Megumi laughed. I fell silent for a brief moment, but all that was doing was making me remember just how hot I was at the moment. I decided to undo a few buttons on my blouse to cool myself down a little.

"Say, Tara? Do you… ever regret moving to Japan? I mean, if you hadn't, you wouldn't have become a Kampfer, and you would have been happy…"

"Whoever said I wasn't happy here? No, I don't regret moving here. I just regret picking up that stupid plushie!" I said, smiling. "In all honesty, if it hadn't happened to me, it would have happened to someone else. I don't think it would have made any real difference. It just would have been someone else suffering instead of me."

"I guess so. Actually, there's something else I'm curious about. Where you particularly popular back at school back home? Even though you're really beautiful, you're also really smart, and I heard that the smart ones are the ones who get picked on the most…"

"I guess I was pretty popular. No one ever picked on me, and I had plenty of friends. Guess I got lucky."

"I'll say. You must have been asked out all the time. I'll bet you had tons of boyfriends over there!"

"Not really. I was asked out a lot, but I was never really interested in dating. I preferred just being friends with boys, rather than going out with them. I always felt I was just waiting for the right person to come along."

I glanced over at Megumi while I was talking. I saw that she was starting to cool down a bit, as indeed was I. I decided to stand up for a little while, since I realised that my legs were starting to feel somewhat gummy.

"You know…" said Megumi, who also decided to stand up. "Maybe you already found the right person, but you just haven't realised it yet. Is there no one here who really gets your heart racing? Maybe you should give it some thought."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said. As far as I was concerned, the only boy in this country I really knew was Natsuru, but I wasn't in love with him. Was I? Megumi moved towards me.

"It means, honey, that there's already someone here who's in love with you. If you really stop to think about it, you'll figure it out."

That confused me. Like I said, Natsuru was the only guy I really knew in Japan, but he was far too infatuated with Kaede to pay any real attention to any other girl. So that ruled him out. Who else could possibly be in love with me? But then, someone else came to mind. And it wasn't who I was expecting. Someone who had dropped plenty of hints about being in love with me ever since we first met…

"Megumi? You mean…"

Megumi looked deep into my eyes and put her hands together.. Why didn't I notice this earlier?

"Yes. Tara… I love you. And… I know you love me too."

My heart was starting to beat faster.

"I- I don't know. I mean you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met, but I don't think I feel the same way about you that you do about me…"

"You sure about that?" asked Megumi. She moved back a few paces and then reached for the zip on the back of her dress and unzipped it. My god, was she about to do what I thought she was about to do? She was- as soon as she was finished with the zip, she gripped the front of her dress and very slowly start to lower it. I could only watch with my mouth wide open as her cleavage got longer and longer, exposing more of her enormous breasts with each passing second. Now my heart was really starting to pound away. After what seemed like an eternity, Megumi dropped her dress on the floor, fully exposing her stunning figure. Well, maybe not fully- she was still wearing her leggings, as well as a pair of sexy, frilly panties, plus her pigtails were draped across her breasts, covering what little modesty she had left. I had to admit, her body was amazing. I couldn't take my eyes off of her…

"I think I rest my case." purred Megumi, walking right next to me and undoing the remaining buttons on my blouse. She threw it off, revealing my own boobs. I knew what she was about to do, but I didn't resist. I didn't want to. I realised there and then that I really was in love with her. I just wanted her in my arms… At that point, I dropped the straps on my bra, and Megumi then put her arms around me. I put mine around her, too.

"Wow, you've gone up a size, haven't you?"

"Yeah. I'm a double F cup now. I think they must have grown over the last month or so…"

Megumi giggled.

"Carry on like this, and you'll be as big as me someday! Here, let me help get rid of that unwanted baggage…"

No sooner had Megumi stopped talking, she reached over to the back of my bra and undid it. As she put her arms back around me again, my bra dropped onto the grass. My own bare breasts felt wonderful pressed against Megumi's, and I instantly felt an incredible rush of passion. I'd never felt so warm in my entire life. I looked up at Megumi's beautiful, loving eyes, and the sexy purple eyeshadow she was wearing, and all I could think about was how much I wanted her. She clearly felt the same way about me, as she was edging her lips towards mine. I moved my lips towards hers as well. Our lips moved closer, and closer, and then I woke up.

…...

Finding myself back in my bedroom, I immediately sat up. Holy shit, what was that? I'd never had a dream like that before. But that was all it was- a dream, right? Dreams don't mean jack shit. They have no real meaning- do they? The rim of my nose was feeling itchy, so I gave it a light rub with my index finger. But as I brought my finger back into view, I saw blood on it! Wait a second, how-? I looked at my pillow, and I saw a small puddle of blood where my nose had been resting. Oh fuck, that dream gave me a nosebleed! I was starting to panic a little now. I had a passionate dream about Megumi. If I hadn't woken up when I did, it probably would've become a scene straight out of a hentai game! I then realised- that's what Megumi was trying to tell me after the festival. She was trying to confess her love to me! All this time, I thought she was just teasing. And now, I realised I was starting to fall in love with her, too! Was I going crazy? I'd never had a boyfriend in my life, and I'd never shown any romantic interest in them, but I never questioned my sexuality before. I always knew that I was straight. But now… I felt so confused. I just didn't know what to think, or what to do. I really needed to think things through. And, as much as it pained me to consider it, I needed to take my mind off Megumi for a while.

I turned my pillow over to hide the small bloodstain, then set about getting ready. There was no school today, so I could afford to take my time. As I showered, I tried desperately to erase that dream from my head by thinking about my favourite music tracks, and about the video games I was currently playing. It seemed to be working, as I was starting to calm down a little. As soon as I was dressed, I went downstairs to kiss my dad good morning, and to have breakfast. Mom had already left for work, it seemed. After breakfast, I decided to do some homework in the hope that it would help me forget about that dream even further. However, there wasn't much to be done, so that didn't keep me occupied for very long. Damn, I needed something else to focus my mind on. I decided to play some more Solitaire. Still wasn't winning many games at it though, sometimes I wondered why I even bothered playing it. But then, it's just so addictive… Eventually, I was so caught up in it that I'd almost forgotten why I was so on edge earlier today. Success! I felt so much better now! Just then, I heard a knock at the door, which was answered by Dad.

"Tara!" he called. "Your friend Megumi's here to see you!"

Oh, shit! That's the last thing I needed! Just when I was starting to forget about that stupid dream… I really didn't want to even see her until I'd got any weird thoughts about being in love with her out of my head. But still, I couldn't just tell Dad to say that to her…

"Okay! I'm on my way down!"

I went downstairs to the door, where Dad and Megumi were. Dad walked away, knowing that I could take things from here.

"Hi. How's things?" asked Megumi. Upon seeing her, all thoughts of that dream came back, and my heart started to beat faster. Dammit, get out of my head! I don't have those kinds of feelings for her! She's just a friend! Nothing more!

"U-um… Okay, I guess…" I said, trying to get a grip on myself. "Is something up?"

"Yes, there is. You probably heard a few days ago that Natsuru was invited to spend tonight with Sakura, right?"

I just nodded, still trying desperately to get rid of the perverted thoughts in my head. Please! I'm not in love with her! I'm not!

"Well, I just heard from Shizuku that she intends to go there as well. She didn't say much, but she did say there was something there she wanted to check out. Most likely something to do with the connection between Sakura's love of those Entrails Animals and the fact that she keeps giving them to people who become Kampfers shortly afterwards. She said that there could be some clues about this war there. Akane's already in, and I was told to ask you if you're in as well."

"You're not going? What about Mikoto?"

"No, I'm kind of busy tonight. And we couldn't get hold of Mikoto- no idea where she is at the moment… What about you? Are you going to go?"

I thought about it for a moment. Kaede was most certainly the biggest link to this whole thing, but, as Megumi said earlier, we needed to find evidence before we challenged her about it…

"Hmmm. I did say I'd help Shizuku find the truth about our battles. But I think that four of us turning up to Kaede's place uninvited is a bit much. Nah, I won't bother. I'd like to know how it went though, so can you ask Shizuku to call me tomorrow morning about it?"

"I don't know, she could always tell me, and I could then pass that information to you!"

"No, it's okay. It'd be less hassle if she called me herself. Anyway, thanks for telling me. See you later!"

I tried to close the door, but Megumi stopped me by continuing to talk. Please Megumi, leave me alone! I can't bear to face you right now!

"Whoa there, Speedy! I wasn't done talking yet! I was wondering if we could hang out today. I know some nice places we can go to!"

Oh, god, no! How am I supposed to stop thinking about her if she's constantly by my side?

"Sorry, but I've got a lot of stuff to do today. I need to clean my room, do my homework, do the washing, that sort of stuff. I can't really afford to go out today. Sorry about that…" I said, as nicely as possible.

"Oh. I see. Oh well, that's okay. I guess I'll see you later, then?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure…"

Megumi turned around and left. Finally! I really hated to push her away like that, but I didn't know what else to do. I was so confused regarding my feelings towards her right now that I couldn't even look at her until I was able to get my mind straight. Great, now I was going to have to try and forget about her all over again…

I spent the next few hours cleaning my room. Dad normally did it, but I insisted this time. After all, it would probably help clear my head a little. Eventually, I got everything looking spotless, and started thinking about what else I could do. Then I noticed Laura's letter from right before the Cultural Festival, and I suddenly realised that I hadn't written back to her! Damn, I knew there was something I forgot to do! So, I set about writing a reply.

…...

Hi Laura.

Sorry I didn't reply back sooner, I've been pretty busy over the last few weeks. It's been really hectic.

Since you asked, I'm pretty sure I've gotten enrolled in a school that's one half sexually frustrated boys, and one half lesbians. I personally blame the fact that they're separated. It's something of a madhouse there, especially with the Cultural Festival going on. That went pretty well, by the way. I was forced into wearing a catgirl maid outfit on both days, though it was really cute, so I wasn't complaining too badly. I didn't go to the beauty contest in the end, as it really wasn't my thing, but I do know it was won by the student council president. Which reminds me, actually-I forgot to tell you this in my last letter, but I was offered a place on the student council myself! I turned it down, though. I felt it was more responsibility than I could handle.

Oh, yes! I almost forgot something else as well! I'm coming home in a few weeks! It'll only be for a week, but since it's the summer holidays where I am soon, Mom thought that would be the best time to go. Can't wait to see everyone again!

Anyway, I'm enclosing some photos that were taken during the festival, so I hope you enjoy them!

See you soon!

Love,

Tara

…...

I really had almost forgotten about the fact that I was going home for a week during the summer holidays. I was so caught up in worrying about my sexuality today that it slipped my mind. Maybe that would help put my mind at ease… Re-reading my letter, I realised that my reason for not joining the student council that I wrote was a lie. Mainly because the real reason involved the whole Kampfer thing, which, of course, I couldn't tell Laura about. I took out the photos that were taken during the festival and took a look through them. I noticed that one of them was of me with Shizuku and Megumi. That one must have been taken just as we left to confront Mikoto… looking at it was starting to make me think of Megumi and that dream again, however, so I quickly put it randomly among the other photos and wrapped my letter around them. After placing them in an envelope, I then addressed it to Laura and put a stamp on it. I looked at the time. 15:47. Just enough time to get this to the post office and have it sent off. And so, I headed out of the front door.

"Hey Dad, I'm just heading out to the post office to send a letter to Laura. I'll be back soon!" I called out.

"Okay. Just make sure you're home in time for dinner!" said Dad. Unlikely I won't, it won't take me that long…

…...

I spent some considerable time queuing up at the post office, but I finally managed to get the letter sent off. As I left, the sun was setting. Wow, can't believe it took me that long to get things sorted. I decided to hurry home, just in case Dad was preparing dinner. Sadly, despite my best efforts, I still couldn't take my mind off that dream. What disturbed me about it more than anything was how warm it felt. It was no nightmare- in fact, it was the most pleasant dream I'd ever had. How could I possibly feel that way about another girl? I'm not a lesbian… Right? I should prefer dating boys. And yet… Every time I thought of Megumi since that dream… I could only think about being in her arms, looking at those gorgeous eyes, and how happy it made me. Maybe I should talk to my parents about it. But what would they think if I told them I thought I was gay? They always came across as pretty cool with that kind of stuff, but then again, they've never had their own daughter tell them she may feel that way… I was at a serious loss. I badly needed to get my act together. Then, something else hit me- it's normally at times like this when I'm thinking about serious issues in my life when I'm normally attacked by an enemy Kampfer. But we all had an agreement not to attack each other anymore, so that wasn't likely to happen at this moment.

How wrong I was.

No sooner had I told myself I wouldn't be attacked, I sensed something coming right behind me. I quickly dodged to one side, and a mysterious figure rushed straight past- barely missing me. She came to a stop close by, and turned to face me. I immediately noticed her blonde hair that was almost the same length as mine, just above her hips. In her hand, she was carrying a rapier- she was most definitely a Kampfer! I then realised something else- I hadn't transformed yet! What's going on now? I looked down at my bracelet. It wasn't glowing. Why not? It was clear I was about to fight, so why hadn't I transformed? Before I could think any further, my opponent dashed straight towards me and struck at me, knocking me over. This was definitely bad…

"How useless." my new assailant said. "You haven't even bothered to transform. This'll be easier than I thought… I'm disappointed."

Hey, it's not like I don't want to transform here! Clutching my chest, I got back up again. As I did, I caught a glimpse of the girl's bracelet. It was a different colour than I was expecting- instead of the usual red or blue colour, it was white! That couldn't be right- there were only supposed to be two Kampfer colours in this war! So how come there's a new one? I needed some info, fast!

"Just who are you? What's with the white bracelet?"

"My name is Sayaka. I am a white Kampfer. There's no need to tell you any more than that, as you're going to die right here and now!"

Sayaka quickly lunged at me, but I dodged her attack. Without thinking, I retaliated with a quick punch to the face- not much else I could do until my bracelet finally decided to transform me… But how long could I hold on? Unfortunately, that punch didn't seem to do much good, as Sayaka launched another attack at me. I just about managed to avoid that one, but I felt a lot slower than normal. If this kept up… Nonetheless, I clenched my fists and adopted a fighting pose. Regardless of whether or not I was in my Kampfer form, I wasn't going to run away. I was going to fight, no matter how hopeless my chances were.

"You have guts, fighting me in your normal form. But it won't do you any good- unless you transform, you're just hitting a tank with a dishcloth. You may as well give up and accept death immediately."

She was right. I had to transform if I was going to stay alive here. But it was becoming increasingly obvious that if that was going to happen, I'd need to do it on my own. But I'd need to concentrate, and I didn't think Sayaka would give me a chance to do that. I had to buy myself some time! But how? Think! Wait a moment- that's it! I knew I couldn't reason with her, but maybe I could press her for more information about these white Kampfers. And while she's busy talking…

"Fine. I give up." I said. "But you may as well tell what the big deal is about that white bracelet before I die. You do know it's supposed to be red and blue only, right?"

"The rules have changed." replied Sayaka. "The red and blue Kampfers are supposed to fight each other, but now you've all agreed to a truce. That's something the Moderators simply won't tolerate. As a white Kampfer, it is my duty to punish those who refuse to fight. Also, You and your friends are asking too many questions about why you're fighting. Therefore, it is also my duty to silence you before you get too close to the truth."

While Sayaka was talking, I was concentrating hard. I was still paying attention to what she was saying, but most of my efforts were put towards making my bracelet work. Come on, concentrate harder!

"So, I take it I'm not the only target here, then?"

"Of course not! Another few of us should be finishing off that big breasted Gothic Lolita girl as we speak, and another one of us will soon be making a move against your other friends. Are you really stupid enough to think you're the only one we're attacking? Idiot!"

So the others were in danger too. I had a feeling that they'd somehow be alright though. As for me, I was still putting everything I had into concentrating on my bracelet.

"How typical." I said. "Just because I'm blond and well endowed, people like you seem to think I'm stupid. A bimbo, even. Well, let me tell you… I'm nowhere near as dumb as I look!"

As I said that, I lifted up my bracelet, which was now starting to glow. The glow surrounded me, and when it faded, I stood there with my sword in hand, in my Kampfer form. I'd finally done it. I managed to transform on my own.

"So you finally decided to transform. What took you so long?"

"To be honest with you, this is the first time I've ever done it myself. Until now, it just happened when there was an enemy nearby, but for some reason, it didn't happen when you showed up. So I had no choice but to try and activate my power on my own. Why did you think I was keeping you talking? I needed to buy myself some time to concentrate. So, who's the idiot now?"

"Grrr… That won't save you. I'm still going to finish you off right here!"

Sayaka jumped into the air to launch a new attack, but I was ready, and I swung my sword just as she was about to strike. Both our attacks hit at the same time, and I managed to knock Sayaka back a little. As soon as she landed, she stabbed her rapier at me again, but I countered the blow. We clashed swords for a short while, and it was becoming clear that we were evenly matched. In a way, I was quite surprised. I'd have thought Sayaka would have been a lot stronger than this- after all, she was supposed to fight those who refused to take part in this war, right? Then surely she should have been much stronger than your average Kampfer. And yet, I was more than holding my own against her. Another lunge from Sayaka followed, which I avoided by dropping onto the floor. While I was down, I swept my leg around, knocking my enemy over. I got back up as she did, but got up faster- leaving me with just enough time to plant the blade of my sword into the ground. Still holding on to the handle, I swung around it, hitting Sayaka in the chest as she got up again. As my feet touched the ground again, I pulled my sword out of the ground and prepared myself for another attack. However, Sayaka didn't look like in peak shape…

"That really all you got? Some Kampfer you are!" I said.

"Ugh… I'm just getting warmed up." said Sayaka, pulling herself up. She looked like she was still hurting, but it was obvious that she wasn't about to give up anytime soon. It probably would have been wise not to let my guard down- I still didn't know what she was fully capable of. Suddenly, from fairly high up, a trio of icicles were fired at her. That could only mean one thing- Megumi was here! Sayaka jumped back to avoid the icicles, and looked up.

"I hope you mean it when you say you're only getting warmed up. Because now you'll have to fight two of us!" said Megumi from above the trees. She jumped down from her perch and landed right next to me. Ordinarily I would have been happy to see her, but right now, I was starting to get those weird feelings of love again. There was no way I could think straight when I was right next to the person who I feared I was in love with…

"Wha? How did you beat Hitomi and Ryoka?" said Sayaka, clearly surprised to see Megumi.

"Quite easily, actually. They weren't as strong as they looked. Judging by the look of you, I don't think you are, either!"

"Crap… I'm in no condition to fight two of you… Just don't go thinking you've won. We're just getting started!"

Sayaka jumped away into the distance, quickly making her escape. Just as well, really- with Megumi around, I probably wouldn't have been able to concentrate on fighting much longer.

"You okay?" asked Megumi. I could only nod. I just wanted to get away from her as soon as possible. I didn't want to, but the more I looked at her, the more I wondered if I really was in love with her. I was confused enough as it was, and this was only making things worse.

"This is bad." she continued. "It looks like the Moderators have started to make their move against us. I was attacked by another two of those white Kampfers, but I was able to beat them. But I think they're only just getting used to their abilities- they're almost certain to become stronger over time."

She transformed back into her normal form and took out her cell phone. As she was using it, I held out my bracelet and concentrated. If I really did transform on my own, then I should be able to transform back, as well. A few seconds later, I found myself back to normal! Yes! This proved it! I really could control my powers now!

"No answer. I guess Shizuku and the others are busy right now. I just hope they're being careful at Sakura's place right now…"

Megumi looked over at me and saw that I had changed back.

"Wow! You changed back on your own! That's wonderful! Congratulations, Tara! I'm so proud of you, honey!"

She walked over to me and gave me a big hug. Suddenly, I was brought back to that dream, and the amazing warmth that it gave me. No! I-I'm not like that! I can't be! I swear to God, I'm not in love with her!

"N-NO! Get off me!"

Without thinking, I pushed Megumi back, hard. She stumbled back a few paces, with a look of surprise on her face.

"Tara? Are you feeling alright? You've been acting really strange today. Is something wrong?"

I didn't know what to say. I knew she was in love with me, and I knew I was starting to feel the same way about her. By this point, I was really starting to freak out. So much so, that the next thing I said came out without thinking, even though I was most likely to regret it.

"Just… GO AWAY! I don't want to see you right now!"

"T-Tara… You don't… surely mean that… Do you?"

I could see some tears forming in her eyes.

"Please, Megumi. Leave me alone." I said, feeling tears in my eyes as well. "Just… stay the hell away from me!"

"Tara…"

With that, Megumi covered her mouth and started to cry. Knowing I was about to do the same, I turned around and ran off. As I charged down the neighbourhood, I could feel my tears streaming down my cheeks. I'm so sorry, Megumi. You were the first person who really made me feel better about myself when I became a Kampfer. You helped me find the courage to fight, and overcome my fears. You gave me so much hope. And that was how I repaid you. By pushing you aside. By telling you to keep away from me. I didn't know what to think any more. It probably didn't matter any more, anyway. I really hurt her feelings back there… She probably hated me now, after what I just said. I probably would have felt the same way, if I was her. I really blew it. Badly. Right now, the whole matter of the white Kampfers was the last thing on my mind. All I could think of were my feelings towards Megumi. So many thoughts were swimming through my head that in the end, I collapsed on my knees and cried harder.

Megumi… Was I really in love with her?